


Something Gave You the Nerve to Touch My Hand

by Lesty



Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Carol Danvers is the mvp, Don’t copy to another site, Emma Frost deserves better, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mutual Pining, Overzealous Shrinking Pop-Culture References, Shrinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 10:04:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20598971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesty/pseuds/Lesty
Summary: Rhodey eyed the pineapple sceptically. "You know what you’re doing, right?”Tony scoffed, tinkering with the giant ray gun that would put a Doofenshmirtz 'Inator' to shame. "Of course I know what I’m doing, this is me we’re talking about here.”Tony did not, in fact, know what he was doing.





	Something Gave You the Nerve to Touch My Hand

**Author's Note:**

> For the 10th September Prompt; Pineapples / “You know what you’re doing, right?” / Height Difference (I combined all the prompts together because I'm nothing if not extra like that - although I have used height differences _very_ liberally here haha)
> 
> My first IronHusbands fic! I'm so excited to participate in this event (mostly bc I'm really excited by the fic my sleep deprived brain cooked up like half a week ago hahaha)
> 
> This is some sort of fusion of 616 and MCU because I don't know enough about 616 Ironhusbands to write it confidently but I really love the 616 universe. So basically just think of ironhusbands as an mcu dynamic but everything else is 616 I guess (also someone who knows more about 616 let me know how I did on everyone else characterisation - especially emma, I haven't read stuff with her character in it for a while)
> 
> I now know far too much about shrinking people in pop culture now ooft
> 
> The titles come's from the Taylor Swift song "[It's Nice to Have a Friend](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaP1VswBF28)" =)

Rhodey eyed the pineapple sceptically, feeling his forehead crease with the wrinkles he had developed long ago, and Tony had since dubbed was part of his _Tony-is-doing-something-mad_ expression. “You know what you’re doing, right?”

Tony scoffed, tinkering with the giant ray gun that would put a Doofenshmirtz ‘Inator’ to shame. It was big and bulky, built with scrap metal that Rhodey was sure Tony had found lying around his workshop, rather than making, designing, and shaping the metal especially for the ray. “Of course I know what I’m doing, this is me we’re talking about here.”

Rhodey raised his hands in mock surrender, despite the fact that Tony wasn’t looking at him. It was more out of habit, than anything. “Hey, I’m not doubting your genius. All I’m saying is, Hank’s the expert on _Pym_ Particles for a reason.”

Tony scowled, pointing the spanner at Rhodey in a way that Rhodey assumed was supposed to be threatening, but was really just rather adorable. “This is going to be way better than anything Hank Pym could come up with. He’s going to be calling them… I dunno,” Tony waved a hand in the air, “Stark particles, it’s gonna be that good.”  
  
“Yeah,” Rhodey said, deadpan. “That bulky shrinkinator is _definitely_ going to outclass Pym’s literally _tiny_ miniaturisation tech.”

Tony grinned in that maniacal way he got when he was rising to some obscure challenge. “Hell yeah it will.”  
  
Rhodey shrugged, resigned to his fate. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Tony had proved him wrong.

Besides, watching a pineapple shrink was going to be fucking awesome.

Or explode – but the point stood.

“Okay,” Tony said, drawing himself up and sliding off of the stool. He tugged Rhodey by his sleeve, bringing them to the edge of the workshop together, by the glass doors. “Let’s do this.”  
  
“Is there a reason we’re this far away…” Rhodey asked apprehensively. “This is more adherence to safety than you normally do, and I didn’t even have to argue you into it.”

Tony looked at Rhodey, his grin stretching impossibly wider than earlier. “Aw platypus, I do only the best for you.”  
  
Rhodey rolled his eyes, more in fondness than anything. He was used to this, Tony’s brazen, almost flirting like way of talking when he was excited. It had been like this as long as Rhodey had remembered. It was the way of things.

Secretly, Rhodey wished they at least had something to protect their eyes, then it Tony _would have_ had the best for him.

“Alright FRI,” Tony said, looking to his left where FRIDAY appeared. “Let’s start ‘er up!”

FRIDAY grinned, waving a hand in the air as if she was controlling the machine from her place, and wasn’t connected to its inner workings. “Sure thing, Boss.”

Rhodey watched in fascination as the machine whirred into life. It shot a bright green beam, directly targeted at the pineapple sitting on one of Tony’s lone stools. The pineapple glowed suspiciously, as if it were taking on the properties of the machine. Rhodey blinked, what if this had been like how Bruce had first turned into the Hulk?  
  
For a moment, the image of a supercharged green pineapple bashing through the nearest building popped into Rhodey’s mind. He smothered a laugh. Now wasn’t the time.

What if the pineapple exploded?  
  
He couldn’t miss _that_.

The machine clattered slightly, a high pitched noise whirring from parts of the circuitry Rhodey could see sticking out of the base. “Oh.” Tony said, his face falling.

“Tony,” Rhodey said, drawing out Tony’s name in what they had both simultaneously agreed was his _what the hell have you done now_ tone. “Is it supposed to make that noise?”  
  
Tony scrambled off of the glass wall. “Well, no, not exactly. I mean – it could, possibly. It’s not like I’ve ever tested it before-”

“Tony,” Rhodey said again, edging towards the machine beside Tony.

Tony paused, opening his mouth, closing it, then opening it again. Whatever Tony was going to say, however, was drowned out by the high pitched noise rising into an all-encompassing screech, ringing in Rhodey’s ears and consuming the workshop.

Rhodey pressed his hands against his ears, trying in vain to muffle the sound. “Can you shut it off?” He cried, trying to match the sound so Tony would hear.

Tony’s own hands were plastered against his ears, like Rhodey’s. He shook his head. “Give me a moment!”  
  
The beam split against the pineapple, stretching across Tony’s workshop. Before Rhodey could even begin to comprehend what was going on, the beam grew double its size, and with it, became brighter, until it’s light was the only thing Rhodey could see. He squinted, he wanted to know what was happening, even if he didn’t know exactly why it was happening, but it was like staring into the sun on a sunny day, painful and almost impossible. In vain, Rhodey screwed his eyes shut, turning his head away.

The beam hit him square in the chest, knocking him against the glass wall. His chest was heavy, like when he had dropped the medicine ball on his chest during his gyn session last month, knocking the wind out of him and making him feel empty of air.

He gasped, trying to orientate himself again. Rhodey peeled his eyes open before immediately pulling them shut. The light was still there, blinding Rhodey. The high pitched squeal of the machine dug it’s claws into Rhodey’s skull, rattling around inside his head. He couldn’t focus, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t do much of anything.

He had to get to Tony.

He picked himself up – and when had he gotten onto the floor, using the wall as an anchor for his body. “Tony!” He called, but even if Tony had replied, there wasn’t any way Rhodey could hear.

Suddenly, as soon as it had started, the noise stopped. Rhodey moved his hands off from his ears, wincing as echoes of the noise bounced in his head, but it was easier now.

Carefully, and without the haste he had earlier, Rhodey peeled his eyes open.

It was a bad choice.

Rhodey crumpled onto the ground, nausea rolling in his gut. It sat heavy, constricting and releasing like his stomach was a stress ball. Bile sat nastily in his throat, almost daring Rhodey to throw up.

Rhodey swallowed it down as best he could, his mouth as dry as sandpaper. He refused to throw up, he hadn’t done so since he was in his fucking twenty’s for god sake. He wasn’t about to start again now.

Rhodey blinked, focusing on the rivets in the floor. There were large cracks that littered the place, marking where the concrete had been battered and bruised from the years of being the home of Tony’s workshop. They were bigger than Rhodey had thought.

He would have to get Tony to repair his floor, it certainly wasn’t safe to be walking on such an uneven surface.

Slowly, he lifted his head. Tony, he had to check on Tony. The bile rose again dramatically, the room shifting and swaying around him.

Rhodey groaned, collapsing onto his back, willing the spinning to stop. “Tony,” he croaked, his throat sore and voice hoarse.

God, what the _hell_ had that machine done?

He heard a responding groan from somewhere near him in the workshop, and for now, that was enough to calm Rhodey on his friend’s status.

Tony was fine.

Rhodey blinked again, his gaze focusing on the roof. Man, he didn’t know how Tony managed to create so much space. The roof was up so high, like the workshop was a skyscraper all on its own. It was impressive, if a little ostentatious – Rhodey smiled, it wouldn’t be Tony if it wasn’t. Either way, he couldn’t imagine building it.

Except… the roof literally couldn’t be up that high, it was impossible. The dimensions of the space, of the building, couldn’t allow it.

Rhodey sat up, groaning as another onslaught of bile crawled up his throat, and spun his head around the room.

Holy shit.

~*~

Tony glared at the pineapple, sitting there all smug in its perfect sized glory, it perfectly sized green head shining in the florescent light like it was the fucking second coming, and Tony was nothing but it’s desired loyal disciple. He ran his gaze over the pineapple, a small grin of mild satisfaction growing on his face before he could stop it. The pineapple’s spikes were smaller than they had been earlier, it almost made the fruit look smooth – or like it had nipples.

“So,” Rhodey said, gesturing around the workshop – or well, the floor. “That happened.”

Tony glanced around his workshop – well, the area of the floor that they could see clearly from their height. They were _tiny_. The room towered above them, the walls and furniture looming over them ominously. Tony was sure even the wheels on his rolling chair was bigger than him, twice the size, at least!

Tony tried to wrack his brain over what had happened. As much as he could guess with the worryingly little amount of information he had, all the power had somehow reflected (which wasn’t even the right word, but Tony was too dumbstruck to care) off of the pineapple and hit them, the only other carbon based life forms in the room.

And huh, carbon-based life forms. Tony never thought he’s have to think that in an entirely literal and scientific accurate process before.

He felt only a little bit alien.

Tony gauged Rhodey’s face warily. He didn’t necessarily look upset, but, well, Tony had accidently shrunk them down in some sort of Stuart Little dystopian reality, so realistically (and Rhodey was a pretty realistic guy, it was why Tony relied on him so much, he could clear Tony’s head when Tony couldn’t), Rhodey had every _right_ to be angry.

“Yeah,” Tony winced, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “Mild oversight on the power of the tractor beam.”  
  
Rhodey raised an eyebrow. “You _did_ _not_ just call it a ‘tractor beam’.”

“Hey,” Tony said, grinning fully at Rhodey now. “If I don’t throw in a pop culture reference every tenth or so sentence, am I even talking properly.”  
  
Rhodey snorted. “You could at least say a reference that’s scientifically accurate.”

Tony smirked. Glad that Rhodey was calming down, that was the point, after all. He waggled his eyebrows. “I can make it up to you later.”  
  
Rhodey cackled. “Dude.” He stretched, glancing around the room. “So, what’s the plan then, or are we just going full Honey, I Shrunk the Kids until you get your Wayne Szalinski on?”  
  
Tony cackled, he couldn’t help it. Rhodey always seemed to just bring the best out of odd situations. It was something Tony loved about Rhodey, how no matter what life threw at him, he was able to roll with it.

Looking up at his shrinkinator – as Rhodey had dubbed it, which had a suspicious amount of smoke trailing out of it, Tony sobered up.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. With the rest of the Avengers on a mission, it had been the perfect opportunity to try and build something different since he couldn’t go. They’d be gone for another week, and he had been recovering from a concussion they had gotten after evil unicorn robots had tried to rip up Manhattan.

Admittedly, the concussion was probably only partly to blame for Tony believing he could somehow making shrink technology better.

Tony sighed, wincing as a metal panel fell and clattered to the floor, echoing around the otherwise silent workshop. There wasn’t any way Tony would be able to repair it, he wouldn’t be able to lift or hold the tools he needed, hell he couldn’t even reach the area’s he would need to. Even if he could, Tony wouldn’t begin to know where to start. Without knowing what went wrong, or what had even happened, it would be as easy as brain surgery on an Asgardian.

Which was to say, it wouldn’t be easy it all – mostly because he had never done it before.

When he told Rhodey this, Rhodey shrugged as if he had been expecting it – which, he probably had been. Rhodey was good like that. “Well then, I guess we gotta go through the front yard and find someone else to be Wayne Szalinski.”

“We are not going to Hank,” Tony said, in a totally not all defensive tone.

Rhodey laughed. “Oh man, I totally wanna see his face when he realises what you were up to.”

“No Rhodey no,” Tony bemoaned, exaggerating every movement as he leaned against Rhodey. “We can’t! Think of my pride! Rhodey, think of my poor _wounded_ soul and the prospect of Hank having this,” he waved his hand in the air. “To loom over me. My poor heart, it couldn’t take it!”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow at Tony and snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”

Tony shrugged, smirking. He knew he had Rhodey on his side. “You love me.”  
  
“Obviously,” Rhodey raised his head towards the roof, which he didn’t have to do, but it was endearing. “FRIDAY, you around?”

There was silence.

Tony groaned. The beam must have shorted out the connecting circuits in the workshop, they had no way to access his AI. FRIDAY was someone who would have been crucial in dealing with this mess.

“I don’t suppose you have your phone on you? Or the suit?”  
  
Tony patted himself down before realising that there wasn’t any point, for one, if he had the suit, he’d be wearing it. They were on the other side of the workshop, and his phone was on one of the _fucking_ benches. “That’s a no on both of them.”  
  
Rhodey sighed. “Yeah, I don’t have anything either.”

Tony stretched, feeling rather than hearing his back pop pleasingly. “Well then Thumbelina, best we get on our adventure.”

~*~

The streets of New York were terrifying.

Crowds of people were milling around them, almost trampling the pair with every step. The ground vibrated, the grime on the footpath bouncing as the people went on about their lives.

Car’s honked in the distance, there were people shouting into phones, and shoving past each other on the footpath. Rhodey watched in grim fascination as a car on the road just opposite the patch drove through a puddle, splashing the water on the sidewalk. He swallowed, it was like the water had leapt into the air, going as high as at least 3 times Rhodey’s current height.

He and Tony were glued against the brick of the nearest building, looking at the sight in despair.

It was utter chaos.

The cool brick dug into Rhodey’s back, the concrete uneven and rough. He gripped on one of the air bubbles in the brick with his fingers, his hand slotting perfectly into place quiet easily.

Man, they were absolutely _tiny_.

“So,” he said. “What’s the plan?”

“I hate to say this, I really, _really_ hate to say this, but I think we should swing by to the Baxter Building.”  
  
“Reed? You think he’s our best bet?”

“No,” Tony said, and he was shouting slightly so Rhodey could hear him over the noise of the city. “But he’s probably the closest to us - geographically, I mean, and I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to be spending the day trekking through,” he waved his arm in front of them, “_that_.”

Rhodey swallowed, making a noise of agreement. “You know the way?”  
  
Tony clicked his jaw, his face settling into one of fierce determination. He nodded hard. “Yeah, it shouldn’t be too difficult,” he gave Rhodey a wry grin. “Even at this height.”  
  
Tony latched onto Rhodey’s hand, pulling it out of the hole it had been in, and without a word, surged forward. Rhodey tripped, running to keep pace as Tony began weaving through the crowd.

Rhodey huffed out half a laugh, dragging himself alongside Tony and pulling him out of the way of a pair of tall red stiletto’s, the heel as big as them. God, Tony never did anything by halves. “A little warning would have been nice!” He cried, pressing themselves against the brick wall again as a trail of children came onto the sidewalk after crossing the road. But it was a half-hearted protest at best.

Tony grinned, his eye’s sharp and alight. “Where’s the fun in that?”

He took off again, Rhodey’s hand still clasped into Tony, and sprinted. They sidestepped cracks in the pavement, weaved through the people in the streets, and let the grime and dirt that was caked in the ground dust over their clothes.

It was like Rhodey was a kid again, sidestepping the bigger kids on the sports field, of ducking through the trees in the forests outside of Philadelphia, of navigating those cheap haunted mansion attractions at the city fair during Halloween.

It was exhilarating.

He let out a whoop of laughter, leaping over a crack with Tony. The wind beat against his face, muting any other form of sound over the rush against his ear. He could feel his pulse in his temples, could feel Tony’s where their wrists knocked against each other, by the beating in Tony’s fingertips brushing against Rhodey’s palm and oh-

Huh, he hadn’t really been paying attention. They were still holding hands.

Tony joined Rhodey in his laughter, swinging their arms together as they ducked through the spokes of a bike wheel, and under the heel of a black pair of pumps. Rhodey made an absent note of that, most of the women he had seen since they had stepped out in their miniature forms were wearing one for of high heel or another. Rhodey didn’t understand it personally, it was something to ask Pepper.

There was a clutter behind them. Rhodey twisted his body so he could continue running, but watch what was happening behind them.

The woman in pumps sidestepped a man in a business suit, stumbling into another woman behind her. A take-out cup of coffee fell out of the second woman’s hand. It was like slow motion, Rhodey watched it sink to the floor even as they rand forward.

Oh Jesus, this wasn’t going to end well.

“Tony!” Rhodey called out. “We gotta get a move on!”

Tony turned around so he could watch what was happening, too. His face fell. “Okay, okay. This isn’t good.”  
  
“No.” Rhodey agreed.

Rhodey analysed their surroundings, they needed to create some distance between themselves and the coffee, but there wasn’t enough time, and there were too many people around. They couldn’t move easily and they couldn’t stop to think properly.

Rhodey pulled them towards the road, there wouldn’t be any people on the curb, and they’d have to risk the wind from the cars as they passed. A little wind burn would be better than a coffee burn, anyway.

And Rhodey’s body would shield most of it from Tony.

Rhodey let out a grateful gasp. There were barriers on the curb, tall poles sticking out of the concrete to stop the cars driving up onto the pathway. Rhodey had no idea when they were put in place or why – and, quite frankly, he didn’t really want to know why, but they were there and could provide at least a better semblance of protect.

The coffee cup clattered to the ground, the lid popping off and the coffee spilling out. Almost too late they ducked behind one of the poles, and Rhodey felt the warm drips from the coffee on his pant legs. Tony collapsed against the pole. He was fine.

Good.

Rhodey looked up towards the road, and let out a startled groan. “The leaves, Tony, dammit.” He pulled Tony out from the pole just as a large collection of leaves rolled past in the gutter, swept up in the wind the cars were causing, Tony had almost been caught up in it too.

They ran through the crowds again, Rhodey taking the lead. His distantly heard Tony speak, something about “damsels in distress”, but it was too loud around them for Rhodey to hear.

He heard the concrete rattle, like there was a bowling ball rolling down it, or like a... He winced, hoping to everything, Thor, Hercules, the God his mother prayed to every evening before bed, that he was just being overtly paranoid and his worst suspicions weren’t about to be confirmed.

Rhodey turned around, watching as someone casually kicked the coffee cup into the air, and it was heading straight for them.

Well, he’d never thought he would be afraid of a coffee cup before.

Tony let out a strangled cry as Rhodey pulled him into his side. “Rhodey, what-”

“Coffee cup, on our six.” Rhodey said, before diving towards the poles again.

Rhodey had forgotten to the wind the people around them were making in conjunction with the coffee cups trajectory.

The coffee cup smashed into them, digging into Rhodey’s back and propelling them forward, like they were that bee and the tennis ball in that weird bestiality movie Tony used to reference. He heard loud screaming, but couldn’t place if it was him or Tony doing it.

It was probably both of them, if Rhodey were honest with himself.

Rhodey watched the concrete come closer and closer as they began falling back down towards the ground. He wasn’t sure how they would be able to land safely, he had never done this before –

Someone’s knee hit them and they were flying off again, before knocking into another person’s bag, and someone else’s back. They were playing pinball with human bodies.

Jesus.

“Rhodey,” Tony cried, “we have to let go of the coffee cup!”  
  
Rhodey’s face fell incredulously. “What the hell do you mean _let go?_ I’m not holding onto it!”  
  
Tony shrugged, and when they hit the next person (their shins, this time), the coffee cup flew one way, and they went another. The ground was dangerously close to them now, Rhodey was sure he’d have something broken by the end of this.

Suddenly, Tony tugged Rhodey’s arm, and he watched in fascination as Tony clung to a cotton thread that had unravelled from the banner hanging outside of the nearest building. They hung limply, a light breeze waving them about gently.

“Well,” Tony said. “That happened.”  
  
“How do we get down?” Rhodey cried, because he was hanging underneath Tony, and had to look up so Tony could hear him.

“Um, let me think… I – I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“We could slide down?” Rhodey suggested, wiggling his fingers in Tony’s hand to get his attention before Tony lost himself in calculations and complicated ideas.

“Rope burn.” Tony countered.

Rhodey rolled his eyes fondly. “Pull your sleeves over your hands.”

There was some awkward shuffling as Tony pulled the sleeves of his shirt over his hands. Rhodey gripped the rope so Tony could do it freely. Tony paused, staring at Rhodey blankly. “You’re wearing a t-shirt.”

“Yep.”  
  
“How were _you_ supposed to protect _your_ hands?” Tony asked disbelievingly.

Rhodey blinked, Tony was right. He hadn’t even considered it.

Tony rolled his eyes, and put his hands back onto the rope, just above where Rhodey’s were. “Ride on my back, idiot.”

Rhodey frowned so he could hide his smirk. “Tones, don’t tell me you didn’t just hear how that sounded.”

“Well platypus,” Tony said, batting his eyelashes dramatically. “If you want to ride me that badly, all you have to do is ask.”

Rhodey chuckled. “Dude.”  
  
“Nah, I’m serious, get on my back, like a piggy back, and I can get us both down.”  
  
Rhodey hummed, it was a pretty solid plan. It was only after Rhodey had shuffled awkwardly onto Tony’s back – it was _a lot_ more complicated than it looked whilst hanging a foot or so in the air that Tony said. “Or get us both up, whatever takes your fancy.”

Rhodey snorted as they slid down the rope, the sleeves on Tony’s shirt protecting his hands easily. Rhodey stumbled off of Tony’s back when they landed, his knees buckling as he dropped to the floor. They were in some sort of alleyway, where no one else seemed to be.

Rhodey blinked, it was quiet here, easy. He hadn’t felt this calm since they had left the mansion.

Tony grabbed Rhodey’s hand and pulled him towards the wall. “It’s like Indiana Jones,” he breathed, as they collapsed against another building. Here the wall was smooth, made of marble. It was cool against his back, soothing the heat in his neck. His chest heaved, drawing in one heavy breath after another, they had made it further than Rhodey had been expecting, he couldn’t see Avengers Mansion from here.

“Only you would compare this to Indiana Jones.” He said with a laugh, but it came out as a breathy sigh.

Tony waved his hand out towards them. “The dodging, the weaving, the making sure we don’t fall for the traps, that we don’t get stabbed or run over by a boulder, this is _so_ Indiana Jones.”

“Or a sports game.” Rhodey said sagely, but he cocked his mouth up in a grin.

Tony laughed softly. “Touché, Air Force.” He gestured out to the path beyond, back where the crowds were. There were a collection of deep puddles, similar to the ones on the road further back, nestled in the old concrete path.

Man, they had been in Tony’s workshop for so long, Rhodey hadn’t noticed that it must have rained, especially since most of it had dried off of the concrete. “So there’s that.”

Rhodey watched with a grimace as people’s feet sunk into the puddle. The heels of a woman’s pump sunk half into them as she hurried past in a blur. They had been at least their height, which meant he and Tony would be submerged up to their waists if they were to attempt to go through.

Which would be dangerous, since they wouldn’t be able to bypass the crowds huge feet as easily.

And gross. Rhodey _definitely_ didn’t want to be half drenched.

“How’re we even supposed to get through that?”

Tony waved a hand in the air. “Well we're small, that doesn't mean we're helpless. We just have to... think a little bit more creatively.”

Rhodey hummed, a small smile stretching onto his face. Tony already had a plan, he always managed to. “So Tones, lay it out, what’s the plan?”  
  
Tony ran his a hand through his hair, his fingers brushing the loose strands that had fallen into his eyes out of the way. Not for the first time, Rhodey wondered what Tony’s hair felt like, it had always looked soft.

And oily. Tony never washed it enough during his workshop binges.

“I was thinking, we sprint for someone walking in that direction, leap up and latch onto their clothes like honest to god leaches, and let them walk us over.”  
  
“Huh, like the Delaware river crossing during the American Revolution.”

Tony rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “God, _Iron Patriot_ was fucking apt, wasn’t it,” he peeled one eye open lazily, and squinted at Rhodey. “But also wrong, the horses in the painting are on the boats.”  
  
“Tones, how the hell do you think Washington got the horses across the river? They didn’t put them in boats.”

“So what, it’s Christmas in the freezing winter, Washington takes one random boat, and then everyone else has to ride the horses and hope for the best that the running water doesn’t spook them?”

Rhodey shrugged. “Pretty much, 100 of them at least.”  
  
“Jesus.” Tony breathed, knocking his head back against the marble wall.

Rhodey knocked their clasped hands against the ground. “Well, the British are coming, shall we get a move on.”  
  
Tony sighed, pulling himself up. “Yeah, let’s go, the sooner we get to Reed, the sooner we get back to normal side.”

“Hear, hear.”

~*~

Really, out of everything they had dealt with since they had become The Incredible Shrinking Men, hanging on a random businessman’s pant leg was one of the easiest things they had, had to do yet. The fabric was soft under Tony’s fingers, and there was enough of it that it was easy to grip. He had even burrowed his feet into the fabric as well, so he was basically just standing rather than hanging.

Tony watched them glide over the puddles, he and Rhodey staying mercifully dry. Absently, Tony hoped that whoever they had clung to was going towards 42 street. They could probably then make the trip in 15 minutes, instead of the hour Tony had predicted.

Dammit, Tony had never valued the five minute walk between their two buildings more than now, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to walk to, say, Greenwich Village at the size of Stuart Little.

Rhodey nudged Tony’s shoulder. “Hey Tones, what’s that look like over there?”

Tony squinted, following Rhodey’s gaze towards the sandwich shop they were passing. Tony’s jaw dropped, his eyes flitting over a familiar orange haze.

“Holy Shit,” Tony said, grabbing Rhodey hand. “Quick, we need to get in there.”

They leapt off of Mr. Businessman’s pant suit, Tony sniggering over the odd creases they had left in the otherwise impeccably ironed fabric. Tony grabbed after Rhodey’s hand, weaving them through the people around them, until the got to the sandwich shop door.

Luckily, someone was entering the store when they arrived, so they were able to slip in with ease, without having to wait until someone else showed up to let them in. Or find a way to climb through a window.

He was standing there, walking with the sandwich shop employee, pointing out the different foodstuffs he wanted on his sandwich, and in that moment, quite honestly, Tony could have kissed him.

They made it up to him as he was finishing paying for the transaction.

“He’s not going to notice us down here, not with so many people around.” Rhodey said.

“That’s fine,” Tony said. “We’ll just follow him until he gets back home, then I’ll make him pay attention to me,” he gave Rhodey a wry grin. “I’m good at that.”

Rhodey snorted. “That you are.”

Without fail, he chose that moment to open another portal, an orange haze opening behind them. Before he even stepped through, Tony pulled Rhodey through the portal. It was slightly tingly, like it always was. Like some blunt needles were tickling his bones.

It was just like blinking, one moment there were in the sandwich shop, the next they were standing on a Turkish rug in the opulent library.

“Wong,” a voice called out behind them. “I bought the sandwiches, from Manhattan, the ones you like. I even remembered the pickles!”

Tony turned around, eyeing his shoe. He squeezed Rhodey’s hand and let go, sprinting towards the shoe in front of him. In what he hoped was in true long jump form, he leapt forward, planting his feet in Stephen Strange’s big toe.

Strange yelped, his foot sticking backwards. Tony dropped to the floor, landing on his butt with an ooft. He winced, straightening up and rubbing his tailbone, behind him, Tony heard Rhodey sniggering.

“Strange!” Tony called, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Stephen paused his movement, bending down towards Tony and Rhodey. He scanned the area before frowning. “What?”  
  
Tony rolled his eyes. “Down here! C’mon, follow the sight of the similar facial hair, you can do it.”

Stephen eyes grew comically wide for a moment, before he schooled them to match the growing smirk on his face. “Tony? How on Earth did you get here? What happened?”  
  
“You mind picking us up?” Tony asked. “Feeling a little small down here.”  
  
Stephen chuckled. “I’ll say.”

He placed his hand in front of them, palm up. Grabbing Rhodey hand, Tony gingerly stepped on to Strange’s hand, pulling Rhodey along. He stumbled slightly as Stephen picked them up, it was like some sort of weird platform.

Then, just as quickly, as they had been picked up, Stephen placed them on the table, and sat opposite them. Rhodey dusted down his jeans. “That was weird, man.”

Tony hummed in agreement.  
  
“So,” Strange said, peeling the paper off of his sandwich. “I assume this isn’t a social call, and you’re not here to get us to join the Lilliputian people..?”  
  
Tony rolled his eyes, a grin tugging at his face. “Nah, I was thinking we could join the Indians in Omri’s cupboard.”

Rhodey let his head fall into his free hand. “Oh my god, this was _such_ a bad idea.”

“Nonsense sour patch, you wouldn’t survive without my phenomenal pop culture references and you know it.”

“I wouldn’t say phenomenal, but they’re certainly no small feat.” Stephen said with a bite of his sandwich.  
  
Rhodey just rocked his head in his hand in the vague form of shaking it. Tony was pretty sure he heard Rhodey whisper, “It’s doubled, there’s two of them,” but Tony couldn’t be quite sure.

Strange looked at their joined hands pointedly, but, blessedly, didn’t comment.

Look, being small was _weird,_ Tony had a right to clutch onto the hand of the only other person who was tiny with him, it was a comfort kind of thing, especially since this was Rhodey-

_Oh._

He understood Jan better, now. Tony had always quietly wondered why Jan had insisted on being a tiny superhero in the early days, instead of, say, growing into a giant or something. It was Hank, he had been tiny with her – _of course_ she had fallen for him, they had been tiny _together,_ like solidarity or something.

Huh. He had a newfound respect for their relationship.

“So,” Stephen said after he swallowed a bite from his sandwich. “Tell me about the spell that did this to you.”

Tony winced. “There, um, this wasn’t a spell.”  
  
Stephen raised an eyebrow. “An artefact of some kind, then?”  
  
“No..?”  
  
Rhodey sighed. “Tony was building something, it backfired.”  
  
Tony bit his lip, trust Rhodey not to tell Stephen _what_ exactly, Tony was building. The greatest friends didn’t throw other friends under the bus.

“So, this happened because of a – and, forgive my language here, but this is an engineering fuck up, then,” Stephen deadpanned.

Tony spluttered. “It wasn’t a-”

“Yes,” Rhodey said.

Tony gave him a half-hearted glare, he wasn’t really upset with Rhodey – honestly, one of the best things about him was that he didn’t take Tony’s shit.

But still, so much for solidarity.

Rhodey only shrugged. “Hey, I’m just calling it how it was.”

“I’m not sure how much help you expect me to be,” Stephen said. “I deal in magic and medical science Tony, not…” he waved a hand. “Whatever it is you’ve done here.”  
  
Tony huffed. “I _know_ that – we just saw you in the shop and… I dunno, it was an opportunity.”

“Which, honestly, I’m pretty curious about,” Rhodey said. “Why _were_ you in that sandwich shop? Greenwich Village doesn’t have its own sandwich shops around here?”

“It’s Wong’s favourite place in New York,” Stephen said, which, alright, he knew Peter was particular about his sandwiches too, so Tony could understand that. “Which, speaking of…” Stephen placed his sandwich on the paper it had been wrapped in, and used his now free hands to open a small portal beside him. “Wong,” he said into it. “I have the sandwiches, yours is going to go soggy if you don’t eat it soon.”

“Oh yes,” Tony heard _through_ the portal, which was unsettling. “I’ll be there in a moment, I’m just finishing up here.”

Tony gaped. _Of course_ the wizards used portals so they could talk to one another, god forbid they ever use something like a _phone_.

Strange raised a pointed eyebrow at Tony, as if reading his thoughts, and took another bite out of his sandwich. Tony forced himself not to shudder, it was like he was reading Tony’s thoughts – which Tony knew for a fact Stephen couldn’t do, but it was still unnerving.

“Could you do that for us?” Rhodey asked.

Strange hummed. “You’ll have to be at least _somewhat_ specific, what are you asking?”

Rhodey pursed his lips together and sighed, which, yeah, Tony could relate to. “The portal, to the Baxter building, so we can ask Dr. Richards to reverse this.”

“Huh,” He said. “Yes, that should be relatively easy.”  
  
“You literally just opened a portal to use as a glorified phone,” Tony blankly. “Relatively easy’ is an understatement.”

Stephen placed his sandwich back on the paper. “I’m not sure where you’ll land, because, if I’m honest, I’d really rather eat my sandwich than go into the specifics of my magic, and I don’t know the layout of the Baxter Building well enough to create a portal that’s as accurate as to land you into Reed’s lab, but…” he waved his hands in that weird was that every magic user Tony has ever met does. Tony wasn’t sure if it was strictly necessary, because every person he has met that has used magic is also insanely overdramatic – but, that could also be a moot point. An orange portal emerged on the table, which was about double the height he and Rhodey currently were. “That should get you inside, easily.”

Tony hummed, pulling Rhodey towards the portal. He waved towards Stephen with his free hand. “You’re a peach, Stephen.”

Stephen nodded. “Godspeed, Betelgeuse.”

Tony would have retorted, something about Betelgeuse being a terrible example of a shrunken character when Tony had literally handed _James and the Giant Peach_ to Strange on a silver platter, but Rhodey had already tugged him through the portal.

~*~

“Anthony Edward Stark, what the hell have you done now?”

Rhodey almost cackled. There really was no way they could shock their friends anymore, this was just life now. As it were, there were sitting in a glass of wine, so, Rhodey thought Carol’s reaction was rather fitting.

“That goddamned wizard,” Tony seethed.

Rhodey looked upwards from where the portal had been, to where they landed into Carol’s glass, to where the table was another half foot below them. Damn, they could have actually have gotten hurt, it was a pretty steep fall.

“You can’t be serious,” said another voice, “I cannot begin to imagine why you thought that would be a good idea, Tony.”  
  
“Well you’re the one who’s rummaging through my head, Frost. You work it out.”

Rhodey turned, finally taking in their surroundings. Carol Danvers, Susan Storm, and Emma Frost – of all people, were sitting around a coffee table with a wine bottle out and three copies of the same book – _Good Omens_ by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, scattered on the table.

“Book club?” Rhodey asked, gesturing to the books.

“It’s exclusive,” Carol said.

Emma groaned. “You’re an idiot, Stark.”

“For the non-mind readers in the room, would you care to explain what’s going on?” Sue said, looking pointedly at Emma, and then Tony.

“We’ve accidently shrunk ourselves and Strange sent us here so we can ask Reed for help.” Rhodey said, because he didn’t want to have to re-hash everything _again_.  
  
Sue nodded. “Right, yes, he should be able to.”

Emma groaned, her head falling into her hand. Rhodey wasn’t sure if that was meant to improve her telepathy or not. He had heard that her mutation wasn’t complete, maybe she was boosting it.

Or, more likely, she was just facepalming in the same way Rhodey often did.

“Well if you stayed _out_ of my mind,” Tony said, glaring at both Emma and Carol – for some reason, “you wouldn’t have to deal with it.”  
  
“Hey, I didn’t say anything,” Carol said, but she was smirking at Tony.  
  
“You didn’t have to.”  
  
“No, you certainly didn’t,” Emma said with an air of finality to it.

Rhodey looked towards Sue helplessly, who, much to his relief, looked equally as lost. “What did we miss?”

Emma gasped. “You expect me not to hear your mind, when it’s as though your banging pots and pans on the roof to get the neighbourhoods attention, and, once we’ve gathered, choose to dump your dirty laundry on our unsuspecting heads! I can’t help hearing your thoughts when you’re practically shouting them.”

Carol was shaking with silent laughter.

“No seriously,” Sue said. “We’ve missed something.”  
  
“I’m being too intuitive for Tony here to handle,” Carol said, with a shuddered breath as she reigned in her laughter. “And it grating on Emma’s nerves.”

“Can we please see Reed.”  
  
Sue laughed softly. “Oh Tony, that’s not a sentence I ever thought I’d hear you say.”  
  
Several years ago, the thought of being in a less than one-sided conversation with a telepath would have unnerved Rhodey, instead, he waded his free hand in Carol’s wine, watching as it seeped into his shirt the more he moved around, and pretty much chose to ignore how weird it was. His day had been far weirder already, so, a conversation with a telepath? That was practically normal now.

The wine was cool against his skin. A part of him was tempted to dunk himself in all the way, dye all his clothing the colour, since he knew he wouldn’t be able to get the wine out of what it had already stained.

He didn’t though, mostly because Carol would laugh at him.

They were too similar like that.

“You might as well,” Emma said airily, giving Rhodey a small grin. “The colour suits you.”

“Eh, I think I’ll just leave it.” Rhodey said.

Emma gave him a small shrug. “Suit yourself.”

“What should you ‘might as well’ do?” Tony asked.

“Nothing that’s important.”

Tony pursed his lips and squinted at Rhodey. “Uh huh.”

“Do you want to get out of my wine?” Carol asked, peering at them through the glass.

Rhodey’s mind flashed to him flopping in the purple liquid and he winced. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Let me take you to Reed, he should be in his lab,” Sue stuck out he hand as Carol tipped her glass in an angle so he and Tony could scurry out. Rhodey watched in odd fascination as the wine sloshed around him, practically painting his shirt purple.

Emma just smirked at him.

Telepaths were strange.

They sat on Sue’s hand as they went to Reed’s lab, Carol and Emma following close behind. It was strange being carried like this, like they were those little green army men that he had played with as a kid.

He looked over towards Tony, who was still glaring at Emma as they walked. Rhodey leaned over and bumped his shoulder into Tony’s and squeezing his hand, watching in quiet satisfaction as the tension eased from Tony’s shoulders. Tony butted his head back into Rhodey’s shoulder, nuzzling it into place just under Rhodey’s chin, which Tony had been doing since they had practically first met.

If Rhodey wanted to, he could lean over and kiss Tony’s forehead, which had never been a stray thought for him before. Rhodey had grown comfortable in his love for Tony, really.

He looked up to Emma giving him a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile. He smiled back because there really wasn’t any point to not smile. He leaned back into Tony, because he was a little worried by how quickly Tony had his outburst, he normally didn’t until they were alone, so something must be wrong. “You wanna tell me what that was about back there?”

“Nah,” Tony gave a quick glance back to Emma. “I just hate that she knows so much, but,” Tony chuckled a bit. “She’d know just as much without the telepathy, Carol sure does.”

Rhodey hummed but didn’t comment. Tony wasn’t going to tell him exactly what happened right now, and that was fine, he wasn’t about to pressure Tony to. “You alright?”  
  
Tony hummed, his head a comforting weight on Rhodey’s shoulder. “Yeah, now I am.”  
  
Which was all Rhodey needed to know, really. When Tony decided to tell Rhodey what was going on (which he probably would, they told each other everything, even if it took some time to actually say it), it would be when Tony was comfortable to, in his own time.

That was fine, Rhodey would be there when he needed.

  
~*~

Tony stood dumbfounded outside of Reed’s lab, seething. Almost immediately after they had arrived to his lab, the man had told him to “wait outside Tony, I only need one of you to run my tests on,” which was fair enough, but Tony still wanted to be in the goddamned room where it happens.

Carol had simply plucked Tony up by his shirt, letting him dangle in the air like when you drag a Mii around in Mii Create, and carted him outside saying “we need to talk, anyway”.

Carol was now trying not to laugh (and failing) as Tony muttered to himself. They hadn’t spoken in the 7 minutes and 34 seconds since they had come outside (since Reed had started his tests, since they had separated Tony and Rhodey) and it was driving Tony up the wall.

He rubbed the back of his neck, his chooses clinking loudly against the metal table, the linoleum lights shining harshly on his skin as he paced up and down the edge of the small space that wasn’t cluttered with Reed’s work. He wasn’t even attempting to hide it, or stop it. Really it made no sense that he couldn’t be in there. He could help Reed with his calculations, he could at least provide more context for what had happened – not that Tony knew much more than Rhodey, but it was the principle of the thing.

“You absolutely should not be in there,” Emma said, reading his thoughts, which was - _ugh_. “You and Reed struggle collaborating at the best of times, there is no need to heighten tensions because one of you is the size of an ant.”

Emma was right, Tony knew she was, but still. He didn’t like Rhodey being in there without him, with _Reed Richards_ of all people.

Look, it wasn’t like Rhodey disliked Richards – mostly, and it wasn’t that Tony didn’t trust Reed (because, despite everything – or maybe because of everything, Tony _did_ trust Reed), but Reed was absentminded and got lost in the pursuit of his entirely theoretical science, he didn’t mean to, but he did, and Tony wanted to make sure Rhodey was safe.

“He can handle himself fine Tony,” Emma said. “You know this.”

Tony scowled at her. Emma was another anomaly to all this. He liked her, of course he did, but the whole telepathy-mind-reading-things-at-a-distance thing just made him uncomfortable. He didn’t even like his _own_ mind, he wouldn’t want to subject it onto anyone else.

And there was the case that she could read his inner most thoughts.

Emma didn’t comment, and gave him a small sad smile, which Tony didn’t want to interpret in the slightest.

Tony focused on the weight of his feet in his shoes, how the metal didn’t protest under his weight like it otherwise would if he were normal sized. He leapt onto a nearby book, the size of one of his old college textbooks, and continued, before jumping back down. He continued this trend for a while, test how different materials felt underneath him, how they reacted to his new weight. It was interesting watching the reaction up close. How the papers creased underneath him, but the book – because it was so thick, remained unblemished.

Anything to quiet his mind.

“You know Tony,” Carol said at 9 minutes and 42 seconds since they had come out here (not that he was counting, of course he wasn’t. “As far as creative dates go, this really is above and beyond. Luke and Jess should take some notes.”

Tony paused, his whole body jerking as his feet planted into the ground (which was one of those Minties wrappers, currently). He flung his head around the room, what sort of idea had Emma planted in Carol’s head now – but she was gone. She must have left a while ago. “What do you mean, a date?”

Carol blinked. “Um, yes? Isn’t that what you’ve been doing without the rest of the Avengers were around – it’s why Rhodey’s staying at the Mansion, right?” She sat in the chair so they were at eye level. “I’ve wanted to give Rhodey the shovel talk for ages, but mostly we need to gossip about this, because you haven’t told me _anything,” _Carol pouted slightly, putting her head on her hands in the way Jan does when she tries to sweet talk someone into getting what she wants.

Re: tries to sweet talks _Tony_ into getting what she wants.

Re: _successfully_ sweet talks Tony into getting what she wants.

Tony frowned. “I, no. I – I had a concussion.”

What the hell did she mean, dating, shovel talks, what was this?

“Ah, right.”  
  
“Yeah, um,” Tony clasped his hand behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels in some vain attempt to seem casual about this. Judging by Carol’s raised eyebrow, he wasn’t successful. “We’re not… No. We’re not dating, that’s not, that’s not a thing that’s happening.”

“Oh,” Carol said. Then she smiled at Tony, like it was that easy. “Do you want to be?”

“Is this what earlier was about, when you started giving me those looks and pointing at Rhodey and I? Friends can hold hands, you know.”

Carol chuckled. “Tony, _we_ hold hands all the time, I know,” She paused, as if trying to choose her words carefully. “But… It seemed a bit different with him.”

Tony slumped onto the ground, leaning against the spine of the god awful college-esque textbook. “Why would you even… we’re friends, best friends, he’s an everything person.”

“An everything person?”  
  
Tony nodded. Didn’t Carol get it? Rhodey had always been someone Tony had trusted implicitly, Tony had found himself with Rhodey, had grown and changed with Rhodey, had watched as Rhodey succeeded, just as Rhodey had done with him. Rhodey had just… always been there. He was everything. He was there for everything, so he was part of everything.

It was a simple concept to grasp.

Rhodey. Rhodey was everything.

“What about Pepper then, Steve, or me. Are we ‘everything people’ too?”  
  
Tony squirmed, it wasn’t the same. Rhodey was, he was a rock, a foundation. Pepper, Steve, Carol, everyone really, they were like pillars, something Tony needed, something Tony turned too. But they weren’t _Rhodey_.

Oh.

Tony gasped. “Huh.”  
  
Carol huffed a silent laugh. “Did you really not know?”

So – _that_ was a development.

Tony shook his head. So he was in love with Rhodey. Really, in hindsight, it should have been rather obvious. Tony thought perhaps another person might consider this a serious development, an epiphany, a startling realisation that reshaped one’s entire worldview.

But it was simple.

Tony had always known he loved Rhodey, so the fact that he was in love with Rhodey didn’t really change anything. It just made it… more profound.

“It’s still not an option, for us, I mean,” Tony said, his voice small. Rhodey is better at this stuff than Tony was. Tony was great at reading others, terrible with himself, but great with others. He would have picked up on Rhodey falling for him, wouldn’t’ve he?  
  
And just because Rhodey didn’t love Tony like Tony loved him, that didn’t change anything. It wouldn’t, it couldn’t. Rhodey was still Rhodey, that was all there was to it. Tony didn’t need anything more out of him. 

Carol rolled her eyes, and Tony saw he heard her mutter “you’ve got to be kidding me,” under her breath, but he was too small and too far away to properly make it out. “Tony Stark,” she said, with all the conviction of a rousing superhero speech one of them (usually Steve or Carol, if Tony were being honest) gave before battle. “You are a superhero, a recovering alcoholic – no don’t give me that look, it’s an achievement, shut up, and if you disagree that means you think I haven’t done something to achieve either so shut up, a genius inventor, and the CEO of a fortune 500 company. The world is your oyster. ‘Not an option’ isn’t something that’s in your vocabulary. What’s holding you back?”  
  
“Besides the fact that I just worked this out and that a relationship is normally a two-way street, you mean?”

Carol groaned. “God you’re an idiot,” she levelled him a look, leaning in so close that their her nose almost touched his chest. “What makes you think,” she whispered, almost conspiratorially. “That if you were to ask that man out right now, he would say know?”

Tony blinked. “He likes me too?”  
  
Carol drew back, laughing softly. “Oh it’s like we’re in high school. The man is in love with you Tony, like you are with him. I’m all for braiding each-others hair and talking about boys, but not before you go talk to _that_ boy.” She gestured to Rhodey on the other side of the glass, who was sitting on a bench talking to Reed and Sue.

He looked up at Tony and grinned, waving, before turning back to Reed.

Oh.

_Oh_.

Holy shit.

Carol was right. What _was_ holding him back?

“Take me in there,” Tony said. “I need to talk to him.”  
  
“Reed’s running his tests,” Carol protested, but she had already placed her hand on the table.  
  
Tony scampered upwards and onto her hand. Her hand was different to Sue’s, warmer, with more callouses. It was a side thought as the door slid open, and Rhodey was there, in the flesh, _right there._

“Oh good, you knew to come in,” Reed said. “It’s a pretty easy procedure to reverse, we can do it right now if you like.”

Carol put Tony on the bench beside Rhodey. “I have to talk to you.”

“What’s up?” Rhodey asked, looking at Tony intently, his eyes sparkling and – oh, _now_ he saw it. This was the way Rhodey always looked at him, his eyes soft and so full of love. Tony had never noticed it before, because it was perpetual.

Tony swallowed his resolve and marched towards Rhodey. He fisted his hands into Rhodey’s now purple shirt (which was a great colour on him) and pulled his until their chests knocked into each other. Without a moment to spare, Tony planted his lips onto Rhodey’s in a blinding kiss. Rhodey was frozen for a moment, which would have freaked Tony out if Rhodey hadn’t become pliant, wrapping his arms around Tony’s waist and pulling him impossibly closer. Tony’s nose shoved awkwardly against Rhodey’s cheek, and their teeth clashed against each other more often than not, but Tony was lost in it, from the feel of Rhodey’s lips pressed against his own – soft and warm, to the way his hand’s trailed up and down Tony’s back, as if mapping it from a new angle.

Rhodey pulled away and Tony whined, lazily trying to follow Rhodey’s lips.

“That wasn’t talking,” Rhodey said, breathless, like he had been when first using the War Machine armour. Tony preened, he liked making Rhodey excited.

Tony’s brain caught up with him. “Oh, oh right. Um, I love you, like in love with you, like, love, love, you-”

Rhodey chuckled. “Did you just say _‘love, love’_ like we’re in some sort of bad anime?”  
  
“Shut up you sour patch and let me finish,” Tony said, but he was grinning, because Rhodey wasn’t pulling him away, and Rhodey was still giving him shit, and Rhodey _loved_ him, and nothing had to change, nothing was changing, because they had always loved each other. “And then I realised you love me, so I just need you to know that I love you.”  
  
“Yeah Tony, I know.”  
  
Tony spluttered. “You know?”  
  
“I’ve known you for how long now? I was just waiting for you to realise it. I’m patient.”  
  
“Huh,” Tony said. “Well that’s…”  
  
Rhodey pecked him on the lips, short and sweet and so wondrously Rhodey. “For the record, you’re right. I love you too.”

“Good,” Tony said, and he was sure he was beaming as much as Rhodey was, given how Rhodey’s eyes seemed to light up. “That’s, that’s good.”  
  
“And also, I’d prefer if our next date didn’t involve us re-enacting a Bob and Bianca Rescue Aid Society adventure,” Rhodey said.

“No, no, definitely not,” Tony paused. “Wait, this wasn’t a date.”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow, looking down at where their two hands were clasped together, which, when did that happen? “Huh, no, yeah. I guess it is one, now.”

“Again, I can go ahead with the procedure.” Reed said, frowning at a string of data he was analysing on a screen, although, that seemed to be Reed’s perpetual state, so Tony doubted it had anything to do with the de-shrinking process.

Sue slapped Reed’s arm lightly, and she was grinning at Tony and Rhodey. “Shush, they’re having a moment.”

“I’ll let you get on with that then,” Carol said, her face the very definition of smug satisfaction as she sauntered out the lab. “I have a phone call to make to a soon to be $50 less rich wasp to make.”  
  
Rhodey laughed. “Don’t tell me you all betted on this.”  
  
“They all did,” Emma said from the doorway – which, Tony honestly didn’t care when she had shown up again. She mustn’t have gone very far. “I was exempt, of course.”  
  
Tony didn’t care either way, he grinned at Rhodey. “So, how’d you feel about eating some pineapple later.

~*~ _Fin_ ~*~

**Author's Note:**

> So, I kept how Rhodey and Tony know each other purposely ambiguous because they met in different ways in 616 and mcu, and for the purpose of this fic (and indeed, their relationship in both universes), I figured it didn't matter, because they have such a strong, comfortable bond either way y'know. 
> 
> Also Emma Frost is SUCH a cool character and deserves far more attention. If you're not that much aware of her, I recommend checking out [the animated series from 2009](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Wolverine_and_the_X-Men_\(Animated_Series\)) (she's a main character as she rightly DESERVES) first to get a sense of her character (and all the mutants tbh) before diving into the comics, because the animation is actually pretty true to the comics charcaterisation (also Bruce Banner and Nick Fury do a random cameo which is wild because this was made whilst Fox and Marvel weren't both owned by disney and neither of them are mutants soooooo).
> 
> Thank you for reading! Writing in Rhodey's pov was actually pretty far out of my comfort zone (which is why there's Tony's pov too), but I'm pretty happy with how I went
> 
> And a HUGE thanks to @[fanfictiongreenirises](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfictiongreenirises/pseuds/fanfictiongreenirises), of which this fic wouldn't exist without. Iris is going to participate this week as well, so check out their work too =D
> 
> (Also here's the info I got for [the crossing of the delaware river](https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/10/christmas-night-1776-cross) (man, my hamilton phase was good for something haha))


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